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80 vs. 800,000: House GOP Goes to “War” With Their Own Constituents

Posted April 23, 2015

Tens of Thousands of Uninsured Floridians Represented by Obstructionist GOP Members

While Richard Corcoran and his cabal may think they are sticking it to the Obama administration and Florida’s hospitals, it’s the uninsured Floridians in their districts who will end up paying the biggest price.

More than 136,000 uninsured Floridians who would benefit from the Senate’s Medicaid expansion plan live in the districts of Representatives Crisafulli, Corcoran, Young, and Hudson — the House GOP leadership team. Coupled with the millions in cuts to local hospitals, this reckless obstructionism will have devastating effects on their districts. And they simply don’t care.

But while the GOP leadership may think they can stand up to the pressure, their followers may not be as committed to shutting down children’s hospitals and denying their constituents access to affordable health care. For Miami Republicans like Jose Oliva — whose county contains more than 200,000 uninsured and is ground zero for Obamacare enrollment — opposing Medicaid expansion and failing to pass a budget may be a tough sell to his constituents.

Floridians expect and deserve more than gridlock, grandstanding, and hypocrisy from their elected officials. If Richard Corcoran and his minions think the voters prefer dysfunctional infighting that punishes the uninsured and local hospitals over bipartisan, commonsense compromise, they will be in for a rude awakening when they go back home after session.

It’s time for Floridians to find out where House Republican member’s loyalties lie. Are they more committed to blindly following Richard Corcoran and Americans for Prosperity or are they committed to doing what’s right for their constituents? Floridians deserve an up or down vote in the House on Medicaid expansion.